Improved gas-machine



' f i i n me. SPRINGER, on CLINTON, iowA.

IMPRovED GAS-MACHIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 97,748, dated December 7, 1869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, T. G.SPRINGER, of Olinton, in the county ofUlinton and in the State t of Iowa, have inventedv certain new and use-` ful Improvements in (larbureters; and doi hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, makin g a part of this speciiication. 1

' The nature of my invention consists in so` constructing a carbureter that thegasoline,

or otherm'aterial used, will feed itself auto-Qf t maticallj, in exact proportion as it isf being evaporated and used; and, also, in automati-v `gcall`y regulating the temperature of -the gaso.`

line-or other material used, so as to produce1 Watall times an illuminatinggas of the desired- `brilliancv.

In;` order Lto enablel others skilled in theartY `to whichnmy invention appertains to make `and use the same, I -willj now proceed to describe its construction and operation, refer- `ring to theannexed,d1rawings,in which-'- Figure 1 is a `longitudinal .vertical section;

front view of the devicefor automatically? regulating the temperature of the `gasoline and Fig. iis a viewof the bar to which said; device is` attached.

A represents the water-reservoir of the ma, chine, through'which passes the shaftB. On

andthe inlet of the air,so as toretain the air,-

. `and create the necessary pressure.

Uponthe outer' endof` the shaft'B is a pulley,0,.connectedby a belt with the pulley D onfthe` shaft E, said shaft and pulley being revolved byimeans ofa rope or chain and` n weight, sol as tocause the shaft B and vits i inetenwheel to revolve.`

t. On top of Jthewater-tank A. isplaced .the

reservoir E, containing gasoline or othersuitai ble material, an opening, a, leading from the bottom ofthe reservoirlirtol the tank A.

The gasoline is admitted-into thereservoir through an opening, F, which is afterward h'ermeticallysealed.xv f

A portion-of the air above the water in the tank A is conducted above the gasoline in the reservoir Elbymeans .of a pipe, b, so as to equalize the pressure of the air above and below the gasoline, for else the gasoline would `not -flow through the aperture a when' it is opened. p

In the air-space of the tank A is pivoted a lever, G, to one end of which is pivoted abar,

d, which extendsperpendicularly, or nearly so, upward,` so that a valve, c, attached to its fupper end, may close the aperture a from below, and prevent the escape of the gasoline. When, however, said valve fis slightly depressed, the gasoline flows into av cup, f, l.attached to the bar d, directly under the valve e, and fromsaid cup, through the receptacle g and pipe h, `into the generating-chamber H. In the center of the bottom of the chamber H is an opening, through which passes a tube, i, having, at its upper end, within the generating-chamber, a cup, I, upon whichis placed a sponge or other suitableporous material.

VThe gasoline,iiowing from the pipe h, saturates the sponge on the cup I, and the air passing upward from the tank A, through the pipe i, and throughthe saturated sponge, becomes carbureted, and rises upward, passing into the kga-someter J. This gasometer is constructed in any of the known and usual ways, and needs no description.

The lower end of the tube is attached to the other end of the lever G, which lever thus forms a balance to regulate the flow of gasoline from the reservoir E.

A weight, K, yis suspended `from .that end `of the lever to which the bar d is attached.

It will readily be seen that if the balance thus formed isset by means of the Weight K,

so that the valve end is, say one ounce, heavier than the cup end, then the valve e will drop down, allowing the gasoline to flowinto the eup'I, until a tri-tie more than an ounce has *passed into the same, when this end, becoming the heaviest, drops down, closing the valve e,

and cutting off the supply. n

As, `now,ithe gasoline" in the fibrous, or

rather porous, material in the cup 1 evaporates by the passage of the air through the same, the cup I again becomes lighter, which causes the valve v to open and more gasoline `heat the fluid in the cup N.

The generating-chamber H is surroundedV by an outside chamber, L, which is filled with alcohol or other suitable fluid which is capable of expansion and contraction, as it is cold or warm. Y

From this chamber, near its bottom, a pipe, M, extends horizontally outward, and then turns vertically upward, its upper end bei-ng left open. y

The alcohol or other fluid contained in the chamber L is thus allowed to rise and fall in the pipe M, asvit is being` expanded or contracted by heat, in the following manner:

From the chamber L a pipe, 7c, leads into a cup or heating-chamber, N, and another pipe,

l, leads back again into the chamber L. Under.

the cup N is placed a burner, m, which is suppliedwith gas through a pipe, n, leading from the pipe that carries the gas oft from the gasometer J. This pipe n is provided with a stopcock, o, so arranged that when nominally closed it shall still allow sufficient gas to es-` cape to form a blue blaze, creating no heat at the burner m under the cup N. In the pipe M is placed a plunger or piston, p, which, by a rod, r, is connected with one end of a lever, I), the othor end of said lever being connected with the stop-cock o. The lever P y is slotted longitudinally and pivoted to a longitudinallyslotted bar, R, by means of bolt and screws, so that the fulcrum of the said lever may be changed when desired.

Now, if the lever l? is set so that when the alcohol or other fluid in the chamber L is at the desired temperature, the piston p floats upon said iluid in the pipe M, and then stopcock o closed, then it is evident that as evaporation takes place within the generatingchamber H, the tlnid will become cooler, and hence contract. This will lower the plunger or piston p, opening the stop-cock o, so that more or less gas will be furnished to the flame at the burner m, and, consequently, This cup, being supplied from the chamber L, the entire volume of fluid becomes heated, and as soon as it then expands again, the piston p is raised, the stop-cock o closed, and the supply of gas shut oi. By this means I am enabled to maintain the sametemperature, at all times,

around the generating-chamber H, which is one of the most, if not the most, important points in a carbureting-machine, and` one which has never been accomplished heretofore. The object of regulating the temperature is to maintain, at all times, the same brilliancy of the gas. In evaporating gasoline or other such materials cold is always produced to a greater or less degree, and cold, it is well known, prevents evaporation, and hence the importance is readily seen of maintaining the proper temperature in the generating-chamber. This temperature is different for the diierent kinds of material used, according to their specific gravity, and for this purpose I have made the lever P adjustable, so thatit can be accommodated to any kind of material used. The same idea may be carried out lwithout fluid, by substituting mercury or any other materialV capable of being readily eX- panded and contracted by heat and cold, and hence I do not connel myself to the use of tluids alone, but claim the use of any material by which the same results may be obtained. f l y Another great objection to the carbureters or gas machines now in useis that the waterI contained in the tank A is liable to become frozen in cold weather. y To obviate this difiiculty I provide a closed cup or heating-chamv ber, T, connected by pipes ttwith the tank A, below the water-line, and place a burner, Vs, under the same, said burner being suppliednby a pipe leading from the pipe n. The gas supplied to the burners is regulated by the same stop-cock 0 as the burner m, and llence'the water will only be heated when absolutely necessary; or I may, if deemed ot' greater advantage, have a separate stop-cock for the pipe leadingto the burner s. v I f y,

It will thus be seen that I accomplish three distinct and separate objects, all ot' which are ot' the most vital importance in such A machines, namely: first, .automatically ,regulating the tlow of the carbureting materialby balances, so that said, material will be supplied only in proportion as it is being evaporated and used; second, I maintain, automatically, an eventemperature around the generating-chamber; and, third, I prevent' the water from freezing.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

I. Regulating the flow ot' the carburetingmaterial into the generating-chamber automatically by balances, in such a manner that it will be supplied only in proportion as it` is needed for evaporation and use, substantially as herein set forth. ,A

2. Maintaining automatically within the generating-chamber of a carbureter or gasmachine the necessary degree of temperature, by means of the expansion and contraction of any suitable material used for that purpose, substantially as herein set forth.

3. Surrounding the generating-chamber of a carbureter or gas-machine with a. suitable iiuidv or other material capableof being eX- pandedA and contracted by heat and cold, substantially as herein set forth.

4. Maintaining the same degree of pressure of the atmospheric air, both above and below the v carbureting material, substantially as herein set forth. C

5. The combination of 'the Water-tank A, reservoir E, aperture a, vand air-pipe b, all

constructed and' arranged substantially as and for the purposes hereinset forth.

The balance G, provided at one end with the adjustable Weight K, rod d. and valve e, and at the other With the tube t' and cup I, substantially'as and for the purposes herein 7. In combination with the-balance thus constructed, the cup f, receptacle g, andpipe `h., all constructed and arranged substantiallyas and for the purposes herein set forth.

8.` The arrangement of the generatingi chamber H, tube t', and cup I, the latter provided With sponge on other suitable porous material, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

9. In combination with the generatingchamber H, the outside chamber L and pipe M, constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

10. The piston or plunger p, rod r, adiustablelever P, and stop-cock o, all constructed 4constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

13. The heating-chamber T, with pipes t t and burner s, constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I havehereunto vset my hand this 26th day of Nove1nber,1869.

T. G. SPRINGER. Witnesses C. L. EVERT, A. N. MARR. 

